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by kutikue, LetoaSai



Series: Familiars [4]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Anxiety, Found Family, Homelessness, Implied abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Just let the wolf adopt you, Lots of snake research, Multi, New Homes, Other, Past Character Death, Sibling Love, Snake milkers are wild, Sora wants to help his friends, They've gone and pissed off Squall, Unlikely reunions, Venom price reflects real world value, caring for your familiar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27091477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kutikue/pseuds/kutikue, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetoaSai/pseuds/LetoaSai
Summary: Sora learns more then he was meant to after bringing Naminé to his brother's shop, and takes it upon himself to help.Selphie gets her hopes up, and Squall takes a few more kids under his wing.
Relationships: Cloud/Leon (Kingdom Hearts), Leon (Kingdom Hearts)/Squall Leonhart/Cloud Strife, Naminé & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Vanitas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Squall Leonhart and Naminé
Series: Familiars [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696579
Comments: 74
Kudos: 90





	1. Naminé

As promised, the following Sunday she and Sora met for lunch. It was a nice little café which thankfully had outdoor seating [even with how common familiars were in society, scales poking out from the edges of an oversized sweater thrown over her favourite paint-splattered overalls had people doing double-takes, and they were distinctly uncomfortable]. Small appetizer plates and three varieties of tea had broken the ice fairly well, and other than occasionally getting a hint of confusion when there was no peek of silver fur in his hood, things went relatively well. She didn’t think anything of it when he invited her to come by his brother’s shop.

  
Sora had insisted on treating lunch this time. It would become an almost weekly tradition between them after Sunday markets, where they would trade off and on who was treating, but he insisted since he’d been the one to invite them out this time he would pay. That….and he’d found out from Selphie just how much of a gift the three of them had really given him with that vial of venom.

  
Sora walked by her side the entire time, talking animatedly about the shop. It belonged to his brother but he still had his own pride in it. Smiling shyly, she’d mostly nodded along with the occasional question thrown in. It was cute how much he admired and respected his brother.  
“You never know what you’ll find there.” He mused, approaching the shop door. “With so many witches adding to the shelves there are all kinds of things selling.”

  
He held the door open for her and sure enough, one step inside already showed off shelves seemingly filled to the brim with different bottles and items. There were quite a number of people browsing too.

  
Eyes a little too wide, she glanced around at the various plants and some seriously nice empty jars. She couldn’t believe the variety of ingredients, and it seemed like almost everything was fresh or homemade. “Oh, wow.” She was looking a little too closely at some of the two and three ounce jars that were tinted a nice soft brown and wondering if she could afford to get some for the next round of venom-milking (she did need more, they were down to their last four), and didn’t notice the very helpful and energetic shop associate until Selphie was greeting her.

  
Honestly, they were all lucky she hadn’t startled Ventus or Vanitas. It would have been awful if they’d bitten someone for getting too close when it was a public space and perfectly reasonable to have someone in their bubble. As it was she almost shrieked, backing up a space with a hand over the pouch of her sweater where Vanitas was moving.

  
“It’s okay.” Sora said quickly, hand gently on Naminé’s arm. “This is Selphie, she manages the store for my brother.”

  
Selphie had vibes all her own. She wasn’t a witch, but she wasn’t a mundane either. As a medium she had a whole different skill set.

  
“And i’m thrilled to meet any of Sora’s friends.” Selphie beamed. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  
“Oh!...it’s ah, nice to meet you.” She suddenly remembered her manners, a little too grateful for Sora’s immediate presence. “Um. This is a really cool shop.” Vanitas had moved his way up and poked his head out from her collar, tasting the air and eyeing the second brunette with an appraising look.

  
His slithering around had gotten Ventus to move as well, his head lifting from her collarbone to sit his chin on the edge of the sweater’s folded collar and still looking sleepy.

  
“Oh! Hello to you too.” Selphie smiled, treating the familiar just as kindly. She bounced a little on her heels, her suspicions confirmed about this particular friend.

  
“This is Naminé.” Sora finished the introduction. “And Vanitas and Ventus.”

  
Selphie dipped her head in greeting. “I always enjoy meeting Sora’s friends but I must admit, I was particularly excited to meet you.”  
The hand that wasn’t now clinging tightly to Sora’s sleeve reached up to smooth down Van’s scales to reassure him it was okay “Oh, ah. Um, how come?” She was starting to get a bit nervous. People being ‘interested’ in them hadn’t worked out very well in the past, outside of Irvine ending up getting them occasional commission work with his department.

  
Selphie smiled and nodded for them to follow her towards the counter. It offered them a somewhat more private spot to speak and got them out of the crowd.  
“It’s nosy of me but I wanted to talk to you about your gift to Sora. It was so thoughtful.” Selphie started, trying to keep her tone relaxed when it became clear that the setting was stressing Naminé out a little.

  
“Oh that?” Interestingly she seemed to relax. Reaching into the fannypack on her hip hidden by the sweater, she carefully pulled out one of the vials her usual customer hadn’t wanted. Apparently he still had some from last time, and had only wanted two today. It was unusual but not enough for her to worry about, he always wanted at least one “When we found out cobra venom was fairly in demand, we decided why not? My familiars figured why not sell the extra, they can’t exactly use it for much, and they make a few ounces a week so…”

  
She set the two-ounce vial on the counter, the clink dulled by the hand-made label on the bottom of the glass.

  
Sora watched Selphie’s throat constrict as if she were on the verge of fainting...or screaming. “You okay, Selphie?” He asked, it wasn’t unlike the reaction she had when he showed her the first vial Naminé had given him.

  
“Mhm.” Selphie hummed, carefully reaching out to loosely close her hands around the little bottle as if hiding it from view. “I… I have to ask you if you know how much this is worth?”

  
A bit intimidated by the medium’s reaction and feeling uncomfortable talking about larger sums of money she muttered “Well...um, we’ve been selling for about three a vial.” She held up her thumb and first two fingers as she said it, having gotten used to using sign language in the markets for those who didn’t always speak languages she knew. “I don’t know what the markups they’re using to go from wholesale to retail, it seemed rude to ask about.”

  
Selphie almost swayed on her feet and Sora honestly worried she would pass out.

  
“This vial. This one right here. It’s...It’s..” She shook her head trying to find the words. “Selling it on the streets it could go for a thousand easily. I could sell it here for up to fifteen, i’m positive” She faltered again and stared at the cobras. “Oh god, and it’s familiar venom too…”

  
Even Sora winced at the one. Familiar given materials, diamond grade materials always had prices jumping. “Just for this little vial?” he questioned.

  
Selphie was nodding. “Just for this one. Two grand, easy."

  
Naminé had frozen. Eyes wide and staring as her mouth made twitching motions. A moment later there was a soft thump as one of her familiars plopped itself down on the floor as a nearly-naked human, his modesty only protected by a loincloth of his own shedded snakeskin. Short black spikes framed shocked red eyes as he rubbed at his jaw to try to find words “How.”

  
“It’s rare.” Selphie explained. “And valuable because it’s so useful in spell work. I could hold this bottle up on the spot and announce it’s here and sell it. Now. Might even have a bidding war on our hands depending on the clientele for the afternoon.”

  
Sora hummed. “I mean, Squall’s got all the proper licences, right? You could sell it here legally.”

  
Naminé weakly reached for and grabbed onto the chair Vanitas pushed towards her. She was already shocked that he’d gone hume, in public no less! But the idea of a bidding war, or people being that excited and “F-fifteen?” Her heartbeat felt too loud and her hands were sweating as Ven moved to nuzzle at her jaw, tongue flicking at the bead of sweat rolling down her face. And then “T-two. Two grand?” Eight times what they’d been scrimping by on, for just one vial.

  
Given the fact that this was a shop for witches, no one inside gave the familiars or their resulting nudity that much attention. It was just a fact of life for most of them. It was lucky it didn’t draw the attention it might have anywhere else.

  
Selphie just nodded, unaffected herself. “If you’d like, I can sell it for you. We have many witches who sell their goods here. The shop gets a small cut but most of it would go back to you. It would be safer selling it here.” She didn’t want to imagine how she’d been selling it before now.

  
“I don’t understand,” Naminé looked confused and fidgeted while petting Ven’s scales “A cut? Wouldn’t I just sell it to you for the wholesale amount and then…” They’d been aware that they weren’t getting the best deal with the way they’d been doing things but their options were limited. She hadn’t ever gone to the school, and hadn’t felt safe enough to attempt the licensing exam. She didn’t want to be found by the wrong people, trying to do things legitimately hadn’t been an option. “Wouldn’t we need to be registered to sell as diamond-grade? I’m not licensed.”

  
“I’m not sure you’d need to be if the shop is.” Sora hummed in thought.

  
“And I'm not about to rip you off that much.” Selphie said. “Leonhart is a reputable place and our supplies and spells are good. Store takes ten percent, the rest would be yours.”

  
Keeping ninety percent. She’d thought fifty fifty was a decent enough trade off for an unlicensed witch, but this was...she’d be making more here with one vial then she had been even when the others wanted up to the six they could make in a week. She usually only let her partners do two each a week unless they were feeling full, since over-milking put a lot of physical stress on them. And Ven had never really recovered from their time in captivity, so neither she nor Van allowed him to deplete his stores too much.

  
With a small dazed nod she reached into her pocket again and handed over the other two vials she had on her “I have a few more at home, if you’d like?” She didn’t like to take more then a few with her at a time, just in case someone was stupid enough to try mugging a girl with cobra’s. That, and they were too valuable. Keeping that much on herself made her nervous enough but she also liked to keep them well-padded in her pouch since the glass wasn’t super strong and having them break would be bad for all kinds of reasons.

  
Selphie smiled excitedly but managed to keep things professional. She could sense the uneasiness and wanted things to remain calm. “You take your time and bring me things as you get around to it. I’ll sell them. I could sell these three, if not today, very soon. Once word gets out that it’s an ingredient we might have from time to time, I've no doubt we’ll have back orders for it.”

  
Sora smiled faintly, grateful Selphie would help but at the same time, Naminé was looking a little pale. “We could go upstairs for a few minutes. Take a breather?” he offered.

  
“Today?” It was so fast, so easy? Turning to look at Sora she tried not to look too desperate as she nodded “Upstairs, sure…” What was up there?

  
“I’ll take care of things down here.” Selphie promised, smiling when Sora took her hand and nodded for her and her familiars to follow him past the counter and into the back. There were stairs in the back that led upstairs.

  
The area was half used for storage but it was also half cleared out and partly furnished. At least there was a couch.

  
Vanitas gently pulled her to sit in front of him on the couch but left plenty of room for Sora too and had moved slowly so she didn’t have to let go of Sora’s hand. He was their friend, or would be, and felt safe. He also smelled like sunshine and joy in that weird way some young humans did, the ones that spent all day running on grass. He was confused how an older teen managed that when it was usually gone by age five, but Sora was making his witch happy so he wasn’t going to begrudge him some closeness even if it felt odd to have someone nearby while he wasn’t a cobra.

  
Naminé looked around slowly “Its like the top floor of a furniture store almost.”

  
“Little bit.” Sora agreed. “You see when my brother was first coming up with this place, this was going to be an apartment. Selphie was gonna live up here and work down stairs but she liked her own place and it’s close enough.”

  
Squall wasn’t about to make her stay there but it did seem like a waste of space otherwise, hence the boxes.

  
“Mm. I knew he owned it, but I didn’t realize he was the one to get it going. Guess I figured since he’s not much older then you it was a family business or something.” She had calmed quickly once there weren’t people around “Um, would you want to come with us to grab the other vials? Its not too far, but I have a few other things that Selphie might be interested in, if you wouldn’t mind taking a look?” She’d feel better heading back in the daytime with another body. It wasn’t the best part of town, but usually only people who were alone were really at risk. Ven and Van easily scared people off but she’d rather not be approached at all.

  
Sora paused and pulled away from her to pull out bottles of water from a pack by the couch and offered them to her. “Sure. I don’t mind. Are you feeling a little better now? I wasn’t sure who was going to collapse first, you or Selphie.”

  
She opened the water and handed it to Van first “Yeah. Just, its a lot of money. And, a lot more then i’m used to selling and...its a good thing.” It had to be. If Selphie had been lying, Naminé would have known right away. People rarely managed to lie to her. “Sorry if I worried you.”

  
“It’s what friends are for.” Sora smiled, looking like he meant it. “You sure you wanna grab this stuff today?”

  
“Yeah, I’d rather get it to Selphie. I don’t know when I'll be back in this part of town this week, Irvine requested me for a few days a couple of cities over. They’re putting me up in a nice room and stuff, some mid-profile case with a widow who's happy to shell out for a ‘psychic’ to give her answers about her family or some such.” It had to be a slow month for the detective, he didn’t usually bother with these kinds of cases.

  
“Works for me.” Sora nodded, always so easy going. He didn’t say as much, but he was quietly pleased that things were going so well for his friend today. That kind of money would likely go a long way for her and it didn’t exactly hurt his brother's reputation either.

  
Heading out she paused briefly as Van changed back and coiled around her shoulder and waist, leaving himself on display even if it was colder; and then again to let Selphie know she’d be back later “I’m going to stop by home to grab a few things, I should be back well before close.”

  
Selphie just smiled and waved to the pair and returned to helping customers.

  
Sora smiled and let them out the back door so they didn’t have to go through the crowd again. “Where to?” he really didn’t mind walking.

  
“Back past the old train station towards where that old crumbling building that was a hospital way back when is the quickest.” It was also where most people avoided going since it was...a bit wild between unsavory types and the more violent ferals.

  
Ven poked his head out further when he figured out she was talking about heading back home and moved down to start up Sora’s arm, looping several times loosely around him like a scarf with his tail hanging down almost to the boy’s belt.

  
“Oh” Sora blinked in surprise for a moment but his look turned warm as he stared at Ventus. “Thank you Ven.” He had to admit, even being a witch that was one direction he avoided. Maybe if he had a familiar of his own he’d have been more comfortable with going some place so dangerous.

  
Ventus wrapped around him was a good, thoughtful alternative.

  
It took a good few minutes for the meaning to sink in however. Naminé lived in such a place… He didn’t feel good about that at all.

  
Ven seemed to pick up on his uneasiness and gently bopped his head against Sora’s jaw before laying his head back down on top of his scaly side, eyes oddly alert for him. Van was in the same state, slightly agitated and staring down anywhere they smell-tasted another living being.

  
“It’s this way,” Naminé led him through the ruins and rubble, occasionally taking his hand to help him through the rougher bits until they reached what looked like it had been a school once. Sora hadn’t been expecting to go down into the basement of what should clearly have been a condemned property. Naminé stopped outside of what must have once been a janitor’s supply closet, the locks only taking her a moment despite there being three of them.

  
It was tiny. The shelves were well-organized if a little cluttered, with most of the floor taken up by what looked like a mismatch of old blankets, two sleeping bags and bunched up clothing to form pillows. A curtain by the mop-bucket station showed where they had likely been having their showers and laundry.

  
Pushing the bedding up into a pile showed a small floor-hatch that looked like it had used to be a place for a dispenser of some chemical. Naminé had converted it into a hidden safe for their stored venom and a few other odds and ends “You can sit down if you’d like, there’s a fold up chair behind the door.”

  
“I’m good.” Sora said, heart beating frantically. She lived here. He didn’t exactly know how to handle what he was seeing but his emotions were in overdrive. “How did you ever find this place?” he was going for casual even as he pulled out his phone to send a few texts. “Seems off the beaten path, you know?”

  
“A little, yeah. There’s a sort of camp area a few blocks away, and someone recommended this spot to us as they were leaving. Its easy to keep locked up from this side, off the grid. Heat usually works and the water hasn’t ever turned off.” She was talking with a little smile, like she’d lucked out with getting this place.

  
Ven’s head was butting against Sora’s chin again as he tried to calm the witch. It was as if he was trying to tell him everything was alright.

  
Sora reached up to trace his fingers lightly down the cobra’s head. “Right.” Sora muttered, likely sorry for whatever complaints he’d ever made about his own home. “Well, i’m glad you guys are alright.”

  
If Cobra’s could smile… Ventus was very nearly preening, happy at the extra attention while he was so awake. Namine hummed as she finished packing everything up in a small backpack she’d removed from the strange pile of cloth-like things in their bedding before moving everything back in place “Its not much, but its home. Safe, and ours.”  
The idea still seemed to bother him and he continued to absently pet Ventus while he texted. “So...how long have you been here?”

  
“Hm...about two years now, give or take.” It had been their first real place once CPS had given up on corralling them for longer than a few days at a time. They’d hit a fair number of abandoned buildings, camps and the occasional shelter. But a place where no one else could impede on, where there was just room for the three of them, had been ideal.

  
“Two years, wow.” Sora mused, heart rate still thudding loudly. His adrenaline was actually kicking in with the need to get some place safer. A tiny flicking tongue tickled his cheek. Ventus could pick up on how he was feeling too easily while curled up against his skin.

  
Naminé carefully slid the pack onto her back, making sure not to pinch or trap Van under it “Ready.”

  
Sora nodded. “Great.” He was all too pleased to make his way out of there and didn’t know how the three of them could breathe down there so easily. Sora thought it was suffocating. When his phone chimed he almost sighed. “You know…” He started slowly. “If you wanted you could live above my brothers shop.”

  
“Huh?” She was just finishing locking up and felt completely blindsided.

  
That didn’t happen to her very often.

  
“If you wanted to, I mean. I asked and he said it was fine.” Sora said, going for casual as he gestured to his phone. “The upstairs was meant to have someone living up there anyway. It could be for you three.”

  
Her breath caught a little “I-I mean. Thats….kind of a lot.” There was so much space. Not to mention “But, he doesn’t even know us, and, I mean, his shop...thats…” How could he just offer something like that, to strangers?

  
“Well I told him my friends might need a place to stay and he said that was fine as long as you weren’t assholes.” Sora breathed out a laugh. “And you’re anything but.. So it would be fine.”

  
“Uh…”

  
“Think about it?” Sora offered. “Good part of town. Close to where you’ll be selling the venom and all.”

  
~

  
Three weeks later, she sitting on the edge of the couch on the second floor of Leonhart’s while she anxiously waited for Squall to come by and she still wasn’t sure how Sora had gotten them to go along with this idea. Sure, it was closer to everything. And a lot nicer, the hot water was amazing. But being in the city meant noise, and people. Van and Ven were both on edge almost constantly even after she’d done what she could to block out the light and noise by putting things up against the windows.  
And then there was the issue of it being too big. There was so much space she felt like she couldn’t hide.  
Sora had already caught them ‘nesting’ in the space under a table that she’d covered with a thick quilt to block out light, noise and create the cave-feel they were more accustomed to.

  
The knock at the door almost seemed odd. Yes, she knew Squall was coming but he owned the building. Him knocking on his own door was probably strange.  
Standing up quickly Naminé moved to answer the door, and had an odd moment of wondering when the last time she answered a door was, before looking up….and up….and up. Wow, he sure was tall. “Um, hello…”

  
“Hey.” He pulled his sunglasses off and offered her a small smile. Smiles were probably valuable with this man. “I’m Sora’s brother, Squall. You must be Naminé.”

  
“Y-yes sir. Um, this is Vanitas,” She gestured to the boy with spiky black hair who looked less than thrilled to have pants on, judging by the way he kept picking at one of the legs “And Ventus.” Her other cobra was curled up around her neck with his head on the front of her shoulder. He flicked the air with his tongue in what could pass as a greeting.

  
“Nice to meet you, and please, Squall is fine. Sir makes me feel….” He gestured vaguely as he stepped inside. “I dunno, but Squall is fine. Is there anything you need that’s not here?” He got right to the point.

  
Naminé quickly shook her head, obviously not even taking the time to think about it “Oh, no, we’re fine really! This is already…” She trailed off as Vanitas very gently elbowed her “Ah. Um, about the rent. Is monthly okay, or would you prefer weekly? I could just pay Selphie so you don’t have to be bothered, if that's alright?”  
He blinked slowly, looking over both her and her twin familiars. He didn’t exude arrogance but he was obviously a witch of some notoriety. “I did not ask for rent at all. You’re Sora’s friend.”

  
“We aren’t freeloaders,” Van’s voice was rough and his syllables were oddly spaced, as if he didn’t talk often “We can’t accept something like this for nothing.” Naminé nodded in agreement “And, we’re making a lot more with Selphie’s, and your shop’s, help so. Really, it would only be right.”

  
“Perhaps.” Squall agreed easily, taking a look around. It was like he could tell already that they’d gone out of their way to touch very little. “But you are also making my shop a lot of money. Ten percent of your venom sales is still a lot. It’s not like I get nothing out of this arrangement.”

  
“Well, yes...but you’d have that cut whether or not you were letting us live here.”

  
Vanitas pulled out a small folded bit of munny “We insist.”

  
Squall hummed, eyeing the cash. “How much is it?”

  
Vanitas held his hand out, expecting Squall to accept “Market value.” It was a little over, but 2,000 was easier to make neat and tidy then 1897.43.

  
“No.” Squall shook his head. “If you insist then i’ll take one. Monthly. It’s different when you’re over a place of business. Most of the value lies downstairs.”

  
Van turned to look at his witch and it was as if an entire conversation happened in a series of blinks followed by a shrug. He handed Squall the entire amount “We’ve been here a few weeks, this covers next month.”

  
Squall hummed faintly and almost looked amused as he took the money.”If that’s what will make you feel better. Fine. Sounds reasonable.” He watched the three of them. “Are you eating?”

  
It clearly startled them “Yes…” Why would he even ask?

  
“Good.” Squall nodded. “I’ll send some groceries here anyway. I have a hungry wolf at home so i’m not about to let cobras and their witch go hungry either.”

  
“A wolf…..” Something tickled the edge of her memory. But no, that would be too much of a coincidence. “We have plenty, really. No need to go out of your way. But, ah, if you and Sora have extra eggs, we wouldn’t mind taking some off of your hands.” Vanitas was already reaching for the wallet again.

  
“Oh, yeah. Sure. I give the eggs away constantly.” Squall shrugged. “And when you're essentially living under my roof, I'm going to make sure you have what you need. Especially if you’re going to be paying me for it now.”

  
The flush covering all three of them- well, two, it was hard for anyone to tell if a cobra was blushing, was more because it was such a pleasant surprise. He was looking out for them? “Oh. Thank you. It’s their favourite, and I think Sora’s given them a taste for free-range.”

  
Squall smiled faintly, another one of those rare fond looks. “Good. Some people should be spoiled a little. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need something.”

  
Naminé blushed a little more while Vanitas looked mildly suspicious. Something about him was weirdly reminiscent about how Cloud had been those first few weeks. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

  
“Good, well then I won’t hover. I’ll be in the shop for a few hours though if you want something.” Squall said, pocketing the money. “Do you have a bank account?”

  
“Yes, Selphie helped us with that.” It was obvious that she had little idea as to what it was or how it worked. “Did I need to do something with that? For the shop?”

  
“No, just want to make sure your money from the venom sales were safe.” Squall mused. “If i’m not around, just ask Sora if you need something.” he was already heading back to the door, the visit a seemingly simple one.

  
“Squall,” Naminé called softly “....thank you.” It was terrifying and new and not at all what they were used to. But it was so much safer, even if it didn’t feel like it. And warmer; they were both nearly constantly worried about Ven getting too cold, especially during winter.

  
He dipped his head. “You’re welcome. Really, I hope the three of you make yourselves right at home.”

  
Ven flicked his tongue out again, curling a bit tighter around his witch. Vanitas made a noncommittal “Hn,” noise, still rather uneasy and visibly jumping when a car door outside closed unexpectedly.

  
“I’m sure i’ll see the three of you again soon.” Squall promised, heading towards the door and pausing.”Would you like me to charm the upstairs, to muffle the noises from outside? Not take them away, just quiet them.”

  
Vanitas shook his head too quickly “Rather be able to hear if somethings there.” Not knowing would be just as bad.

  
“Cobra’s don’t hear the same way Hume’s do,” Naminé said quietly “Just vibrations and low-frequency.”

  
Squall nodded once. “Well, let me know if there’s something I can do. I understand the city can be… a lot.”

  
She nodded again, sitting back down on the couch with her boys and exhaling heavily after the door closed. “He’s okay.” Her intuition hadn’t let them down yet. Vanitas relaxed as soon as the words left her mouth and pulled her closer to lean on him. He didn’t quite know what to do as a human, but close was good, right? Ven’s tongue flicked his cheek in confirmation: he was doing fine.

  
Neither of them knew how to Hume. It was on their list of things to work on, now that they were getting so fully on their feet.

They were mostly settling into a routine. The room was far too much space, so they tried to think of it more as a communal area and kept most of their things and activities to a small part of the room unless Sora, and eventually Riku, were over and then they tried to make more use of the space. Selphie occasionally came up and they’d started to form a small friendship to the point where she often took her lunch break with them if they happened to be home. Irvine, of all people, had come by once to take a look around. He’d been surprised at Squall but also said this was ‘Very like him’, and not to worry, he was one of the good ones.

Weekly lunches with Sora on top of hanging out had gotten a little attention from Selphie, who’d casually asked over one of their luncheons if they were dating. Naminé laughed and told her no, trying not to laugh at the severity of the brunette’s pout and mutterings of “So romantic…” Squall was over almost every week, if not every other, to make sure she was settling in okay and to check up on the three of them. He and Selphie had both sat her down to go over some of the specifics of banking, finances and how her card worked. And to reiterate that everything in that account was her money, and while she should continue to be frugal about building up her nest egg, that she didn’t need to scrimp to the point of going without.

She’d taken it to heart and slowly over the weeks indulged a bit. She’d gotten nicer vials for the venom, and more clothing and bedding for the three of them. They had a nice little stockpile of food now too. She was considering getting a proper easel next month, since she was slowly building up her art supplies and a corner of the room was starting to take shape as a studio-type area.

Despite their earlier conversation, Selphie ended up asking again one day when Sora was cheerfully coming downstairs hand in hand with Naminé and talking about a café “Are you two sure you aren’t dating?”

“Huh?” Sora seemed blindsided next to Naminé’s confused head tilt before they both said a simple “We’re friends.” and continued on their way, one cobra sticking its tongue out at Selphie in a way that was both childish and possessive.

“Ooooh. I get it…” She nodded to herself, sitting back down behind her desk. Sora had ended up mentally adopting them. “Kinda suits them.” She’d always thought Sora and Squall could use a sister.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Squall invited Naminé and her cobra's to move into his newly renovated garage with Sora, he didn't expect the drama.

The thing about skittish people, was that it was hard to surprise them. Surprises weren't always a good thing and Squall definitely learned that the past several weeks with Cloud in his house. He’d gone from wary, feral wolf to his best friend and bonded partner. 

It might have been some time since meeting Naminé but he treated her similarly. Carefully. She and her cobra's had been exemplary tenets above his shop but he couldn't help worrying about them. He’d waited until Sora had brought up moving into Squall's refurbished garage before extending the same invitation to Naminé and her familiars. It only took a few visits for Squall to get a good sense of them and while he didn’t know their background, and hadn’t asked, he’d picked up quite a bit. 

They likely didn’t care for the city long term anymore than Cloud did. It was precisely how they ended up in Squall’s car one afternoon, headed back to his house to see if it was a place they might enjoy living even if it wasn’t full time. 

He had the music turned low and calm and hoped it would help Naminé at least a little. 

Other than her eyes twitching constantly, as if she was trying to memorize every landmark and mentally map out the route while petting both cobras at the same time, she seemed relatively calm. She kept telling herself she was just humoring the idea, and going to see Sora...but something had been troubling her for the last few days. She couldn’t ‘see’ what was bothering her, and usually she only had blind spots like this when it had to do with that man or anyone from the complex, whether intentionally looking or circumstantial. It gave her a bit of a headache.

It could also be nothing. Sometimes she just didn’t ‘see’ well.

Ven and Van were coiled up into a knot on her lap. They looked like a tangled mess, but it was how they dealt with car rides, by being as close as physically possible and concentrating on the feeling and idea of being one being instead of dealing with their separate anxiety.

“Is Sora already back from school?” Small talk was difficult, but Selphie had been trying to teach her.

Her social skills were horrendous, but the medium thought it was cute and that Naminé’s problem came from being shy. If only it was so simple.

“Not yet but he’ll likely be back tonight.” Squall offered. “He keeps getting into slight altercations with his teachers because Riku isn’t a registered student.” 

His lips curved into an amused smile. He was obviously proud of Sora standing his ground and refusing to give up his feral partner. “He’s looking forward to seeing you though. He’s texted twice to make sure I was picking you up today.” 

She smiled fondly. Sora was so considerate, and she doubly appreciated it since he always included her familiars. “No surprise there. Other than anyone thinking they can change his mind on Riku. Besides, I thought familiars being registered was optional if their witch brought them along?”

Squall nodded. “It is, but they still generally enroll. It’s not mandatory but it’s common. Riku being a full blown feral said nope. All that boy wants to do is cling to Sora and sleep in his hood.” 

The academy needed to learn to bend a little. 

“I mean, if it's an option. Um, not to be rude, but does Riku….have the basics of an education?” She couldn’t think of a nice way to ask if he was illiterate, and if not enrolling had more serious reasons behind it.

“The easy answer is no, but Sora’s been teaching him.” Squall said, not insulted or upset by the question. “So far one of his favorite things is Sora reading to him, so Sora reads to him after he’s done his lesson for the day.” 

They’d started with the alphabet and had now moved onto flash cards with small words on them. Over time they would expand his vocabulary a little. It was one more strange difference between Riku and Cloud. Cloud spoke little, but he still spoke very well. 

Naminé nodded “Reading is a good call with ferals. One part liking to listen to their witches voice, and one part….a lot of ferals missed out on getting raised. There's something about being read to that's very parental.” She vaguely recalled Ansem reading to her a few times. Mostly nannies, but there were no other adult men who would have bothered.

Squall hummed his agreement, thinking along the same lines. “Riku’s pretty willing to do anything that makes Sora happy. He doesn’t care as much about numbers but we’re working on it.” 

“I imagine it’ll come fairly easily. Familiars seem to be inherently good with math, especially if its anything to do with their partner’s work.” She’d had hers correct her math on quantities and such more times then she could count.

“Some things are just ingrained.” Squall mused, turning off the main road and onto a dirt one that would lead to his little farm house. “You are quite a clever witch, aren’t you? The progress feels slow to Sora because he’s anxious and wants the best for Riku but it’s been coming along quite nicely.” 

“Well, I sort of had a...nontraditional upbringing. And they’ve been with me since I was small, so we sort of learned most things together. ‘Seeing’ makes some things easier too.” Other than her own name and some very basic math, she hadn’t known much of anything until Sephiroth decided to start giving her small lessons. He’d been the one to teach her how to write her name properly in kanji, she’d only known the rōmaji, and all four of them had agreed it would look better as a tattoo for the bonding ritual.

“Besides, day to day always feels slow learning things like reading, writing and math. Especially the lower levels.” She’d had the worst time with writing. She had a really hard time making her letters look correct.

Squall seemed to agree. “It will get easier for him and Sora loves reading to him too so it’s mutually beneficial.” He turned down another road and then another and the scenery was getting quieter and prettier. “There’s no way either would miss your visit though.” 

“Mm...they bringing Roxas and Xion this time?” She could, or course, ‘look’, but she tried her best not to. It felt rude.

“I don’t think so.” Squall said, “But i don’t know. I think Sora wanted this visit to be about you.” 

He turned on to yet another road, the house coming into view. It was a pretty little farm house, the same one he’d grown up in. The garage sat off to the side and just behind the house several yards, they could see the chicken pens. 

There was a garden on the opposite side of the garage and damn never every window had a flower box in it filled with herbs. At some point, Squall was really doing to get around to that green house he wanted. 

Naminé’s face went soft, “It looks like a fairy tale house.” Her demeanor shifting was enough for one of the cobras to lift a head and peek out the window. “Like the one from Rose Red.”

“Mama sure loved this place.” Squall mused, slowly pulling the car to park in what was going to be the new ‘driveway’. “C’mon, Sora’s not home yet but i’m sure my wolf is lurking.” 

“Right, your partner. You warned him that I have cobras, right?” She’d really rather avoid having to use up a dose of antivenom on her very first visit. Things had been going so well with having both Leonhart's in her life.

Squall hummed “He would really rather have people out of his personal space unless he considers them pack so i don’t think that will be much of a problem. He knows your coming.” He offered her one of those rare soft smiles again before climbing out of the car.

“Uh…….pack?” She paused in trying to coax Ven and Van out of their tangle and back into the pouch of her sweater, which had a good chunk of the interior fabric cut out so they could curl up inside for a nap, to look at Squall in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Cloud is dealing with some stress disorders,” he said vaguely. It seemed the best way to describe it. “So you don’t have to worry about him in your face unless you’re pack or family.” 

“Ah, got’cha. Sora’s told me a little bit.” Another feral. She could make a joke about their family collecting them at this point. Not that it would be terribly funny.

And considering how Ventus had been at one point, there was no way she’d ever be able to joke about stigma.

“Well, we’ll take a peek at the garage before we-” Squall paused, smile turning ridiculously soft when he turned to the house, someone wandering out slowly on two feet. "Cloud."

Cloud wandered out in his human form, the shirt likely his, and the pants likely Squall’s given how many times they were rolled up. Around his throat was a beautifully crafted collar with Squall's name etched into it. He growled softly, but it was more a friendly greeting than anything else. He came out into the yard to meet them and pressed himself against Squall’s side to hold him momentarily but his eyes shifted to their visitor and his pupils contracted in recognition. 

Naminé froze as well, something feeling off. Normally when she had this sensation she ‘saw’ something. But nothing was happening….which usually only happened if-

Ven and Van both tumbled from her as they abruptly changed to their human forms. Ventus got to his feet shakily, both of them wide-eyed as the blonde quietly said, “Your the Condor-Witch’s Wolf.”, at the same time Vanitas mumbled something about odds and Naminé blatantly said, “You were there…”

There was a flash of time where Cloud stood frozen, staring at the three of them and finding it hard to breathe. 

“Hey.” Squall said softly, rubbing his back and noting immediately that they’d just stumbled into something huge. All of the feelings he was getting from Cloud were leaning towards panic. “I’m right here.” 

Cloud suddenly seemed to function again and took several deep inhales, pausing for a moment to bury his nose against Squall’s shoulder to calm himself. Whatever was happening inside his head, he was still reacting better than when he'd seen Tifa. 

“You…” Cloud muttered, voice raspy. He lifted his head to look at Naminé. “You’re Seph’s little witch girl.” 

Naminé’s eyes went glassy right away as she took a few steps towards him, voice pleading “Do you know where he is?” It had been so long...but, if Cloud had left after them, then surely Sephy wasn’t there anymore, right?

Cloud’s face tightened in something very close to pain before he shook his head. “Lost him. Him. Zack. I didn’t keep up. Gone though. They got away.” 

Squall frowned, keeping quiet as he listened but he was not liking what he was hearing. He was still trying not to pry into Cloud’s past but this was all too telling.

“Oh.” Her face crumpled before she tried for something more neutral but she was clearly crestfallen. Ven sat down on top of her foot and wrapped all four limbs around her, as if he was still in his other form, while Van put one hand on top of the boy’s hair and the other on Naminé’s arm.

For one long minute, Cloud watched them, undecided as to what to do. He was a little annoyed, but it seemed to have nothing to do with the three teens. 

Slowly he pulled away from Squall to step closer to them, but didn’t touch. “Seph will be alright.” He spoke almost clearly. “He won’t be caught again.” 

Squall really wasn’t like the term ‘caught’. 

Naminé rubbed absently at her upper right arm, “Right…” She’d gotten caught up in the moment, hoping that maybe, she’d be able to see him again.

Cloud’s eyes dropped to the movement with a frown. He did nothing but point to his own pale arm in silent inquiry. 

Vanitas showed off a scar on his arm almost as intense as the one he and Ven shared on their necks, as if he’d clawed something off. Ven moved his arm into view, pale and clean as Cloud’s.

Naminé pulled her sleeve up and the faint remains of 48 was just visible if you looked for it, between scarring from burns that looked mostly acidic.

Squall was frowning hard, trusting Cloud and following his wolf’s gaze. The scarring and burns were hard enough to look at, but he didn’t understand what he was seeing at all beyond trauma. 

Cloud looked at Ven and held out his own arm. “Stigma?” 

Ven nodded, his voice so very soft for how scratchy the words came out “Accident at first, but it was close enough we just let it run for a bit to take care of the problem.” It had been a very happy coincidence, even if it had been hard on all three of them to let the sickness continue.

Cloud nodded in complete understanding but wouldn’t make eye contact with Squall as he spoke. “Same.” 

He practically expected his witch to stiffen exactly the way he did and Squall held onto his hand, fingers tightly lacing together with Cloud's. His touch was gentle but his voice was firm “Please tell me you didn’t purposely let geostigma run rampant over eighty percent of your body.” 

Cloud shook his head quickly, looking down. “Just my arm.” 

Ven made a sympathetic noise, obviously understanding exactly what Cloud had done at the same time the other two looked much the same as Squall. Trying not to seem too desperate, Naminé quietly asked, “When...did you see them last?” It seemed like he hadn’t talked about any of this with Squall yet, and she didn’t want to say more than necessary. It wasn’t her place. “Zack, he's the bear, right? Sephy mentioned him a few times.” Often enough that she remembered. She couldn’t be sure if she’d heard Cloud’s name before, she’d been so young at the time a lot of things were hazy.

“Bear.” Cloud nodded slowly and leaned into Squall. Being so close to his witch seemed to help his anxiety. “It’s been three years...almost.” 

“Oh. That’s….” She was glad, really, that he had gotten away and that he’d been away for so long but. But, three years, and they hadn’t managed to meet again. She wondered if he’d looked for her. If he was still looking. Her shoulders slumped as she thought about it and hoped he was okay.

“They were with Chaos.” Cloud said vaguely, wondering how much she knew and if that would mean anything to her. 

Her mouth made a small ‘o’. She knew enough, it seemed. “Guess he must be alright then.” And yet...she suddenly felt more alone then she could ever remember feeling.

Cloud reached out slowly to her but still did not touch. “It’s safe here.”

“I know.” Somehow she wasn’t picking up from Squall just how strange it was for Cloud to do this much talking. Or that it seemed like he was initiating physical contact. Neither Ven nor Van were bothered by him; he was like them.

“Stay.” He invited softly, nodding to the garage. “You should. Safe and...” He stepped back until his back bumped into Squall’s chest. His witch’s arms were instantly wrapped around him and Cloud glanced back at him. He didn’t have the words for how grateful he was, but Squall could feel it drifting between the buzz of their bond. 

“But why would you…” They knew each other second-hand, at best. And, really, now that she knew Sephy was out there, somewhere...she should start looking.

Cloud growled quietly. “We deserve it.” 

She stared at him, unsure how to respond to that.

Cloud kept a hold of Squall and nodded his head to the garage again. “Good, safe space. Take a look. Sora will live there too.” 

“Okay…” She still looked unconvinced even as both her familiars returned to their cobra forms and climbed inside of the hid-y hole in her sweater to curl up around her body for warmth and comfort.

Squall sighed softly and rubbed his hands up and down Cloud’s arms. He had to tug a little to get Cloud moving even though showing Naminé around had been his idea. 

The walk was still short and Squall led all of them inside. The garage had been completely refurbished and was its own cozy little apartment. The bottom area where he once parked his car was now half living room and half tiny kitchen. 

The little blonde walked around slowly, taking it all in. It was so much calmer than the city. She could only tell it used to be a garage because of the large door near where the kitchen table was; it was a nice way to have semi-outdoor space during nice weather without having to move much if anything “It looks amazing.”

“Two rooms upstairs and a bathroom.” Squall commented. “One for you and the other for Sora.” It went without saying that their familiars would be sharing with them. 

“I-its like an entire house all on its own…” She didn’t notice that a few tears had snuck out. This felt too good to be true.

And she’d be right next to Sora, her very first friend.

“You don’t have to be here full time if you don’t want to.” Squall said, watching her expression carefully. “But you also could stay full time too. This place is for you and Sora, he wanted to share and it seemed like a good idea.” 

He’d silently compared Naminé and her cobra’s to Cloud several times already but it seemed they had more in common then he first thought.

“Why…” It was such a big gesture. And even though she knew she and Sora would eventually be near-family, she and Squall were just edging from acquaintances to sort-of-friends, and she didn’t even know Cloud. This wasn’t just their house, it was a home, the home they’d inherited from their mother, the start of their last name and beginning of an ancestral land. What reason could they have to keep her…

“Wanted too.” Squall said as if it was the easiest answer in the world. 

“Spoiled witch.” Cloud said, oddly fond. There was a slight shake to his hands still. “Wants his way always.”

“Don’t most…” Her face darkened in remembrance of another witch who wanted his way. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

Cloud actually laughed, despite his jitters. “Squall isn’t like most witches.” 

“Hey,” Squall smiled and gently knocked his head against Cloud’s, a wolf like gestured he'd picked up over the last few weeks. "That’s either really nice or really insulting.” 

“Could be both.” She plastered on the same smile she used at the police station when she was trying to be polite.

Squall was trying to be discrete as he rubbed Cloud’s back and tried to comfort him but something was obviously very wrong. “Why don’t you three look around?” Squall offered. “Sora hasn’t picked a bedroom yet. You could have first dibs.” 

Cloud seemed to only offer a nod of agreement, encouraging Naminé and her cobras to stay in his own way. 

“We’ll give everyone a chance to catch their breath.” Squall muttered, his meaning clear. He wanted Cloud to lay down for a while so he could attempt to look at the young witch later without spiraling into old memories. 

“Yeah….we’ll, um, wait for you here?” She gestured vaguely at the couch in the living room portion. She was nearly as on edge as Cloud was, and the mass of scales under her sweater seemed to be in much the same state.

“Any place you like.” Squall smiled faintly. “If it’s going to be partially your space then it’s yours to do with as you like.” He was nudging Cloud to the door who seemed to have a hard time walking again. 

Something about leaving the three of them alone didn’t sit right with him. It was going to be days of an over protective nature trying to settle. 

“C’mon wolf, you need a moment.” He said quietly and Cloud managed to finally get out the door. He didn’t offer the polite goodbye he wanted but he didn’t think they’d mind. They were all still in a state of mild shock. 

There was a concerned hissing as Van stuck his nose up from the front of her sweater and looked his witch in the eye. “Yeah, no. I’m not picking first, we’ll wait for Sora...”

~~

This was going to be dealt with immediately. 

Squall could tell in the way Cloud hurried across the yard to the house. In the way his jaw was locked and his shoulders were set. The last half hour had been a rude surprise and he was still processing. His left hand still gripped his right forearm and the wild look in his eye was reappearing. 

He’d tried to hide it from Naminé, but Squall saw it all the same. It had been months since he was so unsettled 

“Nothings changed.” Squall said after they stepped inside the house. “You don’t have to talk before you’re ready. I’ve never put pressure on you to relive your trauma.” 

Cloud whipped around and growled at him. “No. No more excuses. Have to now.” 

“Cloud, baby you don’t. If you’re not ready you-” 

Cloud growled again, backing Squall into the nearest wall and nipping roughly at his jaw with sharp teeth. Squall vaguely wondered if he’d have bruises the next day but it didn’t matter. Cloud was stressed and his breathing was ragged and Squall would let him have his tantrum. It was well deserved. 

“Have to!” Cloud reached up and tugged on Squall’s hair. Not enough to hurt him but to impress upon him how seriously he was taking this. The familiar was disoriented and down right scared and he’d learned over the last few months that clinging to Squall always helped. Cloud dropped his head to bury his nose against Squall’s shoulders and inhaled, using his witches scent to calm him. 

He was at war with his own instincts, trying to decide how best to explain when being verbal was not his forte. 

Forcing the matter however, had Squall thinking about it too. Cloud maybe didn’t want to talk about it, but perhaps he _needed_ to. 

“Okay.” Squall muttered, arms around him. “Okay, then i’m ready to listen.” 

Cloud sagged against him, making a soft whine sound that Squall did not care for at all. It sounded like he was in pain. 

Squall slid his hands down to Cloud’s thighs and lifted him up into his arms. It wasn’t like Cloud was all that much smaller than him, but it was sure easier than carrying him in wolf form. Cloud’s arms and legs wrapped around him and he made no arguments about being carried to their room. 

Not all witches kept their familiar’s in their rooms but Squall didn’t see the issue. Sure, had Cloud wanted his own room he’d have had one, but he didn’t, so with Squall he stayed. Some witches were too stuck on outdated traditions. 

Whether Squall ever found a witch to marry-which he doubted, or if Cloud found a familiar to align himself with, their bond would not change. Cloud was in his life first. 

He nudged the door with his hip and fell back onto their bed with Cloud still on top of him. He didn’t expect Cloud to immediately open up and he didn’t. That didn’t matter. Squall stroked his hair and tried to calm his nerves. He had to wonder if Naminé and her cobras were equally stressed out. 

“So you’ve met Naminé before?” Squall finally asked, thinking a simple question might spur things. 

Cloud growled a negative. “Were kept...in the same place.” 

Squall’s eyes narrowed and he didn’t like the wording, not at all. “Kept?” 

“Kept.” Cloud repeated with a sigh. He sat up slowly, sitting on Squall’s waist. His eyes slid shut, attempting to find the start of the story. “I...grew up in a little town. Nice town. Small. Pleasing.” 

“Where you knew Tifa?” Squall added when Cloud paused. It earned him a nod. Tifa had told him that much. “You disappeared around thirteen.” 

Cloud nodded again, expression tight. “Was playing. With a friend. Good friend. Bear. Zack.” He cleared his throat, trying to make his words coherent. “We were just playing. Maybe we strayed too far? I didn’t think so though but suddenly... Suddenly everything went dark. Went painful. Witches took us. Bad witches.” 

Squall frowned, blood feeling like ice running through him. 

“They hurt us. Did things to us. Experiments. So painful.” 

Squall didn’t want to grab him, not while he was being forced to remember such things and settled for putting his hands on his hips. “What...kind of experiments?” 

Cloud grumbled, considering which example to offer. “Would be deprived magic. Nothing and nothing and nothing. Then they would give it to me finally. Give and give and give and give until that hurt worse than going without. Back and forth. Back and forth…” 

Squall saw white and realized he must have blacked out for a split second, absolute fury rocking him. No _wonder_ Cloud could handle Squall’s magic. His stamina to absorb magic from witches had been abused. 

“God Cloud. Have i ever hurt you?” Did he take for granted that Cloud would take whatever he gave?

Cloud reached out and cupped his face, eyes slitting open. “Not once.” He leaned down to press his forehead to Squall’s. “Best witch. Kindest, most perfect witch.” 

Squall swallowed, arm around around his waist. “Okay. So.. you were in a horrible place. Being tortured. Naminé was there too?” 

“Different experiments. Familiars. Forced bonding. Making hybrids.” 

“Hybrids?” Squall questioned. All of it was bad. All of it was horrendous but that one stuck out. “Do you mean like breeding?” 

Cloud shrugged, sitting up straight again. “Yes and no.” He sighed. “Some breeding happened. Poor, poor babies.” Cloud’s throat tightened painfully and tears rolled down his face. He inhaled slowly. “Others were altered. Familiar to witch. Witch to familiar.” 

“That’s...insane.” It was a lot of things. Inhuman. Violent. Taboo. Sure the occasional mishap could happen if a bond wasn’t accurately performed but accidents happened and things were usually okay. To purposely…. “Witches were experimented on too?” 

“Yes.” 

It was little wonder to Squall now why Cloud seemed to oddly feral. Maybe it was no longer the right word. He’d been in captivity. “How long were you there?” His voice was cracking. 

“Years.” Cloud said, counting on his fingers slowly as if needing to make sure he gave the correct answer. “Seven years. Ish.” 

“Seven.” Squall felt sucker punched and he reached up, pulling Cloud to lay against him. Someone had hurt his Cloud. Hurt wasn’t even an adequate word. Tortured. Someone had tortured his Cloud.

“Escaped. Ran. Many did.” 

“Like Naminé.” 

Cloud rested his cheek against Squall’s shoulder but still managed to shake his head. “No. She must have been Seph’s little witch. She escaped before the rest did. Good for her. Smart.” 

Squall wasn’t sure yet if he was going to throw up or not. “Why was she looking at your arm?” 

“Number.” 

“Excuse me?” Squall didn’t think he could get any colder. 

“All branded with numbers. Seven. I was seven. Seventh experiment. Layers and layers of skin came off from the geostigma infection. Clawed at it. Made it worse to get it off.” 

Squall fought the urge to grab his arm and double check to make sure his skin was unmarred. He’d….purposely ripped off layers of skin just to get that number off. Squall couldn’t exactly say he blamed him and the illness probably messed with his thinking anyway.

He had so many questions. Thousands of them and hardly knew where to start. All he could think was to get as many of them out right now as he could and not put Cloud through this again. 

“There were multiple witches in this place hurting you? Got any names?” 

Cloud growled low, pure hatred in the sound. “Hojo.” 

“Is he still alive?” 

“I assume.” 

Squall made the mental note to find out everything about him humanly possible. “Well not for much longer.” he promised, so angry he felt dizzy. 

Cloud paused in his own grief to kiss between his Squall’s eyes. He could feel Squall’s absolute rage through the bond. “Angry?” 

“Livid. Some bastard hurt my wolf. Hurt _children_.” Squall paused. “Your friend. The bear. What happened?” 

“Dunno. Got separated. I tried to… we escaped and i...lagged.” 

The emotion in his voice was painful and he was making those whines again. “On purpose? Why?” 

“I…” Cloud swallowed again and it sounded like it hurt. “They took Jessie. They took all of them and….i…” 

Squall rubbed his back and could practically feel Cloud vibrating in despair. “Jessie?” The ache he felt in his own chest grew. 

“She was my friend.” Cloud was breathing hard. “My friend and i loved her. Both of us-trapped. Starved. They put me in a cage with her because they thought i’d fucking _eat her_. Wanted to see if i would.” A sob found its way past his lips. “Those bastards! Those damn bastards.” He was nearly hyperventilating and clinging to Squall. He’d kept this bottled up for so long and now Squall could feel the swirling emotions.

“I’m sorry.” Squall whispered, holding him tight and letting Cloud just sprawl out on top of him. 

“I had to find them. I…” Cloud inhaled and exhaled hard. “They took her. They took our baby. She was pregnant with our second.” He didn't say the forced breeding had been involved but he didn’t have to. Whether it had been forced or if it was simply comfort in a hellish situation, the circumstances had been bad. They’d only been teenagers at best.

“They killed her! They killed my babies!” Cloud howled, and it was the worst sound Squall had ever heard in his life. He clung to Squall like a lifeline and Squall’s grip around him only tightened. 

Cloud had been so damn young and Naminé younger still… 

“I’ll find him.” Squall said, voice low. Cloud had escaped but were there others? Was this still going on? “I will find out whatever i need to find him, and i will rip him apart.” So many crimes. So many taboos broken. He’d talk to Irvine. He’d talk to Yen Sid. He didn’t care how hard he’d have to work or where he’d have to look. He’d find that bastard. 

“Squall….” Cloud breathed out shakily and held into him. Cloud had been so sick as he hid on the streets. So sick and he wouldn’t risk contact with another witch to get better. He'd had no good alternatives.

He didn’t know how he’d gained Cloud’s trust but he wasn’t going to lose it. “Oh my wolf. I love you. I’m going to find a way to make sure this never happens again.” 

He couldn’t promise to make it better or to pick up all the lost pieces. He couldn’t put a band-aid on it and make it all better, but he could find that sorry excuse for a witch and break him. Squall would break him too. He’d make sure no one else suffered in such a way. 

Cloud would be the last wolf he had in captivity. 

“Squall…” Cloud sounded exhausted but buried himself against his witch. He shivered pleasantly at the pulse of magic Squall gave him and Squall would never be able to think of the action the same way again. 

Whether it had been the madman's intention or not, he’d made Cloud stronger. He just also gave Cloud nightmares, panic disorders, and a broken heart. 

“My witch…” Cloud’s voice broke. “I love you too.” 

Squall stroked his hair and held on tight. He might need to have another talk with Naminé but he felt even better about inviting her to stay. She needed a sanctuary too. 

He’d need a little time to reevaluate but he’d manage. Cloud wasn’t feral, but abused. Seven years was a long time in captivity let alone being tortured and experimented on. 

Losing a child… that was a whole new kind of hurt. 

Squall pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I promise.” He said, no idea what he was promising, but Cloud nodded, otherwise limp against him. 

They’d make this right somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

Sora had skipped his last meeting with Quistis, letting his teacher know he had to get home and she could call him there if she needed something. All she wanted was to once again ask him to try and convince Riku’s to enroll properly. 

Quistis herself didn’t even care exactly but the headmaster had asked her to try and use her pull with the Leonhart family to convince him. It seemed like a waste of a meeting even if the Matron was trying to add him to her familiar program. 

Lea had dropped him off and he headed towards the house before noticing the lights in the garage were on. 

“Ooh, think we’re allowed to take a look yet?” Sora grinned, wandering towards the garage as he reached up to pet Riku. He was curled up in Sora’s hood again, his head resting on Sora’s shoulder. He liked it there, literally protecting Sora’s back while still being close enough to lick at his face. 

Sora just pushed the side door open, finding it silly to knock on a door to a building he’d gone in his entire life. “Hello?” he called, wondering if the others had gone back to the house. 

There was a slight sniffling noise from the new couch across the room from where Sora was sticking his head in. Naminé was rubbing at her eyes with the back of one hand while compulsively petting both Ven and Van, who were coiled up around her calves and mostly on her lap, tongues flicking out in distress at the level of anxiety in the room.

Ventus, Sora thought it was Ventus? His scar and tattoo of Naminé name was on the opposite side as Vanitas’, turned his head and stared into Sora’s eyes as his tongue flicked out once to taste/smell Sora and Riku coming into the room.

“Oh...” Sora frowned a little, instantly knowing something was wrong. “Are you three okay? Naminé?”

Riku lifted his head making a small whining noise. 

The blonde witch raised her head and looked over, puffy eyes saying more than she ever would about how she was really feeling as she mumbled out a watery, “I’m okay...we’re...we’re okay.” How could she even begin to explain that she and Cloud knew each other second-hand already?...or anything about how she’d lived before? Sora hadn’t reacted well to her previous living situation, his tender-heart wouldn’t take any of her past well.

“Can we come in?” Sora asked, hovering in the doorway. He didn’t want to barge right in when she was having a private moment but everything in him screamed at him to try his hand at comforting her.

“Of course, it’s your home.” She managed a small smile at how silly he was being while one of her partners moved so he could comfortably join them on the couch.

“Our home.” Sora corrected with a smile as he stepped closer. “I mean, it could be. Squall said you guys could live here with me and Riku.” 

“Yeah, your brother told us to go pick out which room we wanted, since we got here before you.” Her laugh sounded a little more certain this time “I think it's more fair for you to pick first; it's your family home.” The idea that ‘home’ could mean Sora being next door, literally on the other side of a wall, was exciting and terrifying all at once. What if he decided he didn’t like living together?

Sora shrugged, “We can pick together, okay? I haven’t really been allowed in here so it’s all new to me.” His smile was warm. “You look around too Riku. You should have a say in our room too.” 

Riku just made a lazy noise and licked at his cheek. 

“Yeah.” Sora chuckled. “It’ll be so much fun.” 

It got a small giggle out of his friend, who stood up slowly so as not to upset the mass of scales as the cobras situated themselves “I haven’t gone upstairs yet, but i’ve looked around down here a little. It's really nice, Squall put a lot of work into this.”

“Squall can come off as a jerk sometimes but it’s because he cares so much.” Sora said, standing and actually looking around now. It was a sweet combination of living room and kitchen. “He’s like, super warm and just wants the people he loves to be taken care of.” 

Riku actually hopped down to sniff around and explore. 

“He’s not a jerk.” Maybe a little closed off, but lots of people liked to keep to themselves.

Vanitas moved over once Riku hopped down and started to wind around Sora’s arm. They tried to keep off when Riku was on, and keep interactions short now that Sora had his own partner, but they still liked to say hello and get their boops and pets in.

“Hello Van.” Sora greeted fondly, leaning closer and patting his head gently. “I hope you guys are really feeling okay. I’m sure this is overwhelming but, well, i’d like it if the three of you decided to stay here with us.”

His reply was to slither around Sora’s neck and boop his cheek. Naminé gave an approximation of his meaning “We are…” It was much more about revisiting repressed memories, worry about Sephy and the shock of learning about Cloud, but she’d wait til after dinner to talk with Sora about all of that; when they could hide under a piece of furniture with a blanket thrown over it and both pretend they weren’t emotional over all of it. “Are you sure you want us here? I know we get on well enough, but living with people is...different then being friends, even good friends.” She figured he probably knew that better then she did; having lived in the dorms and now with Riku.

“Of course I want you here, and I mean, i’ll be at school a lot but I come home a lot too.” He grinned. “I worry about you three, it will be nice to see you more.” 

“You don’t need to worry about us, we can take care of ourselves. And, its a really nice setup above the shop.” Asking for more felt selfish, and Squall had already gone out of his way to help them find proper curtains to block the light, and that heat lamp! They couldn’t ask for more just because they were jumpy being in the city proper.

“Awe, just promise you’ll think about it.” He offered her his hand. “Let’s look around, kay?” 

She was happy to take his hand, She always felt safer when he looked out for them, and all three were touch-starved. Sometimes, she wondered if this was what it was like to have an older sibling, before remembering hazily that it wasn’t, older siblings were….distant. They’d never held her, or been kind. One of them had patted her on the head sometimes when she did something helpful but other than that all she could really remember about them was they looked like their father. Shaking her head to stop that train of thought she tried to focus on the present and enjoying Sora’s excitability for their new home.

Oh...she was already thinking of it as- well, Sora was trying to convince her to-, but no, it wasn’t not yet-

Not yet… Was Sora really convincing her that easily, or had this been part of something she’d already seen?

“Riku, out of the kitchen please!” Sora called as he led Naminé upstairs. “We gotta check out our rooms!” 

It wasn’t as if the garage was huge but it had everything they needed. Both doors to the little rooms were opened and they took a peek. Both had a bed and dresser and Sora knew he’d be taking a lot with him from his actual bed room in the main house. 

“Awe, these are nice.” Sora smiled warmly, knowing the work Squall and Cloud put into it. “Not as big as your room above the shop though.” he said it off hand but she had to wonder if he realized how much they didn’t like having so much space. 

Naminé shook her head “No, this is...an actual room. The floor above the shop is like an entire flat’s worth; too big and open to really...this is good.” It was actually still bigger than she’d thought it’d be but maybe that was the amount of floorspace she could see. It seemed Squall had no qualms with sleeping arrangements either, they both had double-beds, and the dressers were large enough for multiple people, assuming either of them ever got their partners to go for more then one to three articles of clothing.

She was also happy to see that he’d left the floor as hardwood, giving them the option to lay rugs down where they wanted meant she could set up the heat lamp that he’d gotten them no problem. Not to mention it’d save Sora some time vacuuming since Riku did seem prone to shedding.

“Only having one window is nice too, minimizes light and noise.” It also meant there was a way out if the door wasn’t an option. Plus she could let the air in if she wanted to, Squall’s property had nice air, unlike the city.

Sora hummed his agreement all too happily. “The rooms pretty much look the same. I guess it’s whether you have a fondness for sunrises or sunsets. What time would you like sunshine coming in?”

He got a shrug in response “Don’t really care either way,” They’d never had the luxury of those sorts of options “Your pick ‘ra.”

“Riku,” Sora called, grinning when the fox all but appeared at his feet. “You’ve never had a room either, you want to pick which one?” 

He got that silly cry/chitter in response before Riku took off, zooming around the first room and then the second. 

Namine giggled, Ven and Van resting their chins on either shoulder as they watched with obvious amusement. “He’s excited. Not the biggest fan of the dorms?”

“Not the biggest fan of people and there’s so many people in one building even if we have a room to ourselves.” Sora shrugged. “And he’s lived outside his whole life before me so him having a room is a big deal. I want to give him that.” Sora’s smile was serene as he watched Riku bouncing up and down in front of the room he wanted. “I want to give him everything.” 

“Mm...speaking of everything,” She turned to look at the bathroom. “Counters. Counters and a tub.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten to take a proper bath that wasn’t in a river.

Sora looked in beside her and smiled. “You gotta stay, even if it’s only weekends or something. Please?” 

“Mm...just seems like we’re intruding, I mean, Xion, Roxas, and Lea are already here part-time, and Squall likes his quiet. Three more, and semi-permanently?” And besides, if she didn’t move in, then those three could have this room, leaving the house to Squall and Cloud which would keep things quieter.

“Naminé.” Sora said softly. “Does my brother strike you as a person who does anything he doesn’t really want to do? He invited you three, because he wanted to. He thought you’d like it and that it would be good for you. I think it would be too.” 

There was a lot of fidgeting from her as she tried to find words “...don’t wanna be a problem.” She really, really liked how things were right now, and didn’t want to cause any trouble. And it felt like she already had, with how freaked out Cloud had been.

“Never.” Sora’s smile was gentle. He led her into the second room that could be hers. “You deserve nice things too. A nice place to live. A family. A bigger family.” 

“Family is……..” She’d started to space out hard in a way Sora was getting familiar with.

“Us.” Sora pulled on her hand and sat on the bed with her. “Whatever you had before doesn't matter. You have us now. My mama would have loved you.” 

Sitting down snapped her back to reality and her eyes went wide at Sora’s words; she hadn’t heard him actually talk about Raine before “Oh.”

The cobras were slithering around the room, exploring quietly while giving the witches a semblance of privacy. It said a lot about how much they trusted Sora.

“She would. Ellone too. I mean they loved us so much but they’d have liked a daughter too.” Sora smiled warmly. 

“Ellone’s the lion, right?”

“Mhm.” Sora nodded. “Mama’s familiar. She was basically our second mama.”

“She was really pretty. They both were.” That Sora hadn’t ever shown her pictures was irrelevant, she’d seen the way they smiled at their sons in her mind enough that it warmed her own heart.

“Oh yeah?” Sora caught the odd statement but didn’t think much of it. Naminé was a seer and things like that just happened. “They were. Really pretty.” 

“Is it really okay?” She asked quietly as she looked at the pattern of the quilt on what could be her bed.

Sora squeezed her hand. “Yes. Promise.” 

“We’ll stay tonight, and then think about it.” She wanted to check back in with Cloud and Squall first; she didn’t want to get too set on staying if it was going to be hard on them, especially with Cloud having had such a shock already today “...got some stuff to tell you about later.”

“Okay. Sounds reasonable.” Sora offered her another smile. “Maybe we’ll make dinner over here and invite my brother and Cloud over. Like a little house warming.” 

“Yeah, okay. Sounds nice.” Hopefully she could actually help him with that, her cooking skills were a bit hit and miss.

Riku burst into the room but didn’t get too close to the witch or cobras. He gave a pleased cry. 

“Right Riku.” Sora laughed. ”We’re home.” 

“Mm. Home.” It had a nice ring to it.

~~~

Squall was thankful for the nice weather. There was still a chill in the air but it was plenty comfortable to sit on on the porch for a little grooming. He was thankful for it too. It would have been a mess inside. 

He sat with Cloud stretched out across his lap in wolf form, his familiar happily limp while Squall ran a brush through his fur. 

When it came to familiars, so much transitioned from one form to another. Cloud’s wounds were a good example of that. What healed in one form, healed in the other. There was something to be said, however, for a good bath and a nice brush in their animal forms. It was necessary for their general health and Cloud loved it when Squall pampered him. 

“Feeling better?” Squall asked, pausing to scratch at Cloud’s ears before stuffing Cloud’s shedded fur into a ziploc for later use. 

He got a tail wag in response. 

Sora walked out with his fox wrapped in a towel. Riku had absolutely hated the bath in that form but he was liking the rub down. 

“Can i have your smaller brush?” Sora asked. 

“Yeah.” Squall passed it over to him. “All yours.”

Naminé smiled at them “What, Riku doesn’t have his own yet? Or do they like sharing?” She and her cobras were sitting on a sunny rock while she slowly went over their scales with a piece of cloth, making sure to only rub in one direction. They could easily take care of their own grooming needs, but all familiars enjoyed being taken care of. It was a big part of being bonded, and she cared about more than their fangs.

“I just thought i’d steal one to be honest.” Sora grinned. “Squall came home with this huge set of grooming things already.” He kept rubbing Riku with the towel and his tongue practically lulled out of his mouth, content. “And after i traumatized him with a bath, the least i can do is brush him.” 

“He’ll get used to it.” Squall said, tossing Sora a bag to collect the fur. He was sure if Cloud could get used to it, any familiar could. 

Ven, Sora thought it was Ven? The only way to tell them apart in this form was their neck tattoos; Vent-y left-y and Van-i right-i, was giving Sora an odd look. Nami patted the top of his head, speaking for him “Is a bath really so bad? Your hot water is really consistent, not to mention you’ve got all the luxury bath-stuff.” What she had considered a ‘luxury’ item had frankly appalled Squall. He’d not-so-secretly had Selphie restock the bathroom above the shop shortly after she’d moved in.

“It is when you're raised feral and have never had a hot bath before.” Sora chuckled. “I half think he thought i was starting to do some spell work when i just started filling a tub with steaming water and then started adding smelly things.” 

Riku made a put out noise but neither confirmed nor denied the words. 

Sora tapped his nose with a smile. “New things can be scary until you're used to them. He’s been taking showers in his hume form but the bath was new.” 

Vanitas had turned to give Riku and Sora the same look as Ven. Naminé lightly tapped his own nose “I think it's a bit different for someone with fur. You don’t like your hair wet either, imagine if your whole body was like that.” He gave a hiss of extreme displeasure at the idea. “Yeah, that's what I thought.”

Squall chuckled, all of his attention on Cloud. He’s slid his fingers under Cloud’s collar for the good scratches and Cloud was wiggling around, tiling his head to get that moving itch. “Cloud likes baths at the moment. It’s drying off that takes forever normally. I know a drying spell that speeds things along.” 

“I need it.” Sora said instantly. “I don’t know any like that.” He knew heating spells but he’d worry about things getting too hot or burning Riku if he wasn’t careful enough. 

“What the hell do they even teach you at the academy.” Squall muttered, pausing to check Cloud’s ears. Cloud moved fast and clamped his jaws around Squall’s hand, it was still his favorite.

“Shouldn't you know?” Naminé was confused; Squall was a graduate and...Sora went to him with a lot of his homework, studying and other questions.

“Mm, i didn’t have a very traditional academy experience.” Squall said, zapping Cloud with a little magic that all of them could feel traces off. Cloud’s tail wagged faster. 

“Which is the vague way of saying, Squall does what Squall wants.” Sora teased. 

“Doesn’t surprise me even a little bit. Um...what's...Selphie said one of your former classmates is a teacher, right?”

Squall hummed and nodded. “Quistis. Right. It doesn’t surprise me any. She was always tutoring classmates and things like that. She liked research and things like that herself. Makes sense she’d remain in that kind of environment and do what she likes best.” 

“So...how do you not know what's going on at the school then?” If he was responsible for a student, and friends with a professor? Not to mention, the former headmaster was their grandpa…

“I don’t ask.” He said simply. “I graduated early compared to most and I only stayed as long as I did afterwards because I had Sora with me.” 

Sora hummed. “Yeah and that was with me enrolling earlier than most. I got to do basic classes which was fun at the time.” 

Squall distracted himself with petting Cloud. “I was also disappointed Yen Sid retired only a year after I graduated. I’m not particularly fond of the current head head master and keeping my distance makes sense.

“Oh. Yeah, I guess so.” Still, something didn’t seem quite right.

“Squall also never takes into consideration that he's pretty famous.” Sora commented. “Should someone recognize him, they’d make noise about it. I’m also sure Quis does tell him stuff but he doesn’t listen.” 

“I listen enough.” Squall grumbled, still he felt more like Sora’s teacher most days. He’d had some trouble learning in his classrooms and it seemed Sora was no different. 

“I’ve never been in a class, so I don’t really get it.” She’d tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, trying to understand “Is it really that much to have to listen to?”

“I have different classes every other day.” Sora offered, “Only four a day, each one an hour to an hour and a half long.” 

“Tedious.” Squall sighed, thinking back on his own experience as if it were yesterday. “I never did well in a lecture setting. I had too many questions and had no time to ask them. More often than not I'd just leave class and go to Yen Sid with my questions. Was like that long before mama died. She thought it was funny.” Naminé was kinda glad she hadn’t had to go to the school. Sitting for that long and not being able to get questions answered? What was the point?

“School sounds dumb.”

“It is.” Squall agreed. 

“Squall.” Sora complained with a laugh. “It’s more than that. You get to make friends and learn things and share spells and meet all kinds of familiars. We go to the grove all the time to both plant and harvest and I swear I saw one of the grove fairies one time.” 

Riku’s ears perked up and he made a delighted sound that made Sora grin. “Riku says he’s seen them.” 

“Grove fairies...you mean, like actual Sprites?” Her eyes went huge, and she was more than a little excited “That's so cool! They don’t usually let people see them.”

Sora matched her smile. “I only saw a glimpse, I guess it could have been anything really. Riku’s told me he’s seen them a lot though.” 

“Not surprising.” Squall commented. “He was living in the grove.”

“You're so lucky…” She’s always wanted to see them for herself, actual fairies…

Squall smiled a little. “Next time we go visit Sora at school to plant in the grove, you can come. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” 

“Am I allowed to go?” She wasn’t a current or former student, and she really didn’t have a reason to be on the premises.

“Anyone is allowed to visit the groves as long as they are respectful.” Squall said. “We’d likely have very little reason to go to the school itself.” 

“If you're sure it's oka-wait. The next time ‘we’ visit Sora at school?” She’d agreed to staying the weekend, but she hadn’t actually said they’d be moving in for real. It felt like...too much.

Squall smiled a little. “What? I thought you might enjoy visiting Sora and Riku in the middle of the week while they’re still at school.” 

“I do love a visit.” Sora snickered, very carefully running the brush through Riku’s fur. He needed to trap the little bugger to trim his nails too. 

“Oh, um….I, I guess if that works out.” Her eyes darted to look at Cloud again. She...still needed to check with him to make sure, really sure, that her being around was okay. Visits would be fine, but full-time or even weekends...she needed to be sure.

As if on cue, Cloud shifted back to his human form, still sprawled out on Squalls lap. He didn’t seem to mind the conversation at hand and picked through Squall’s basket of supplies before pulling out a different brush and handing it to Squall. 

“Oh I see, not done?” Squall laughed quietly but did as he was asked and went about brushing out Cloud’s blond spikes. 

“You like sharing the garage with me, right?” Sora asked, oddly calm. 

“Yeah, of course!” She hurried to reassure Sora, wondering why he was bringing it up now.

Sora watched her. “You just seem so unsure.” he muttered. “You’re basically family now. If Squall comes to see me there’s no reason you and Ven and Van shouldn’t come too. I’d like to see everyone.”

“...we’ll come. I-if it works out.” She had her police work still, and it was never consistent.

“Kay.” Sora said, but his smile was soft and hopeful. 

Squall sat with Cloud and watched them. They already looked better being out of the city for a little while. Cloud reclined, his back pressed against Squall’s chest. 

“Good home…” Cloud commented quietly. 

“Yeah.”

Naminé squirmed a little, switching to rubbing the cloth on Ven, who was mostly dozing as usual. “It is very nice here.”

Squall rested his chin against the top of Cloud’s head. “How would all of you feel about a greenhouse?” 

“You’re finally gonna build it?” Sora looked surprised. 

“Thinking about it, yeah.” He smiled. “Could be something of a family project, if all of you are interested.” She flushed again, not understanding how it was so easy for him to just...adopt her like this. Like she was already theirs. Like this was really her family now, too, even though she was still so new to them.

“Absolutely.” Sora laughed. “You gotta wait for me to be home to help though. I don’t wanna come home next weekend and find the whole thing done.” 

“Fair.” Squall glanced at Naminé. “Do you want to help? We’ll set it up so we can all have our own areas in there.” 

“...yeah. That sounds nice.”

“We’ll pick out a spot later today then.” Squall said, knowing it had to be later because there would be no moving Cloud, not for a while. 

“We? Please. Cloud’s gonna nudge you til it's the proper place for sun.” She’d heard enough about how Cloud had reorganized his house and work spaces. 

Squall made a disgusted sound. He couldn’t see it but he knew Cloud was smirking. “I _do_ know how to grow things.” 

Cloud reached up to pat his cheek. “Mhmm.”

“Of course you do...but do you have an innate understanding of where the sun’s going to be concentrated year round?” She had a feeling Van and Ven would be happy to add their input, they’d gotten oddly close with Cloud, considering he was a wolf and technically could eat them. But they were both predators...and even if they hadn’t confirmed anything, she suspected that they may have actually met Cloud before, back there. Ven, in particular, calling him the Condor’s-Wolf had gotten her attention.

“I have lived here my whole life.” Squall grumbled. 

Sora laughed. “So have i, and i have no idea.”

Smiling coyly, she asked “So...what side of the house gets the most summer-sun? East, west, north or south?” 

“You know what? I’m not going to dignify that with a response.” Squall said, making Cloud laugh. An actually real, out loud laugh. 

It was nice, this new home of theirs.

~~

Namine paused in the hallway, alone for once. “...now’s as good a time as any, right?” Even if he hadn’t revealed himself, she knew Cloud was nearby. His glances over the last few days had made it clear he wanted to talk. Privately.

Cloud wandered out of Squall’s workroom on cue and nodded at her. He came closer and walked right past her, heading into the living room, assuming she would follow. If she was a little hesitant, well...he was a bit intimidating. And she felt weirdly naked without her partners, she’d grown accustomed to scales and the moderate weight against her skin.

He curled up on the couch as easily in his human form as he did in his wolf skin and gestured for her to do the same if she liked. She sat down, but her posture stayed rigid. She looked like she did at work, all calm politeness and discipline. Not that it would do much to hide her nerves, she’d left a fair bit of space between them.

“Happy?” he asked before thinking better of it. Happiness had once been an ideal he never thought he’d reach. He never imagined he’d have his very own scatterbrained witch that was all power and gentleness. “Content?” he offered instead. 

“Um,” She hadn’t quite expected him to ask this sort of thing “Happy...yeah. Content, I dunno. It's a lot of new. Not bad, but...It was comfortable how we were before, you know? Not anything glamorous, but it was perfectly boxed in, and we had control over the only lock.” She’d worried that being locked in a small space would have been massively triggering for all three of them. But they’d only had relief. Context was everything.

He watched her for a beat longer. “Do you feel safe here?” He’d been in a similar situation but Squall’s house had been the first time he’d had a roof over his head since he’d escaped. He needed to be able to breathe.

“Weirdly, yeah.” Squall’s wards were nothing to sneeze at, he took his privacy seriously. It was also remote enough that she couldn’t see the ‘neighbors’, and there were two exits to the room she’d been sleeping in. Besides, Sora was here too, and the carefree way he walked around and spoke said volumes about how little danger he felt in. About how at ease he was with his brother.

Cloud smiled a little. “Stay. All three of you here. Where it’s safe and space is yours.” 

“Your...okay with that?” She’d thought...but he’d been so freaked out out when…

“If I can be a layer of protection between you and thoughts of that place...I want that.” Cloud said, voice gruff to hide the shaky emotion. “Would rather Seph knew you were safe with me too.”

“You don’t mind...it's a lot, to have to think about...from being around each other.” She largely tried to ignore it. Getting their numbers off had made it possible. But even Cloud’s attempts weren’t quite hiding from her that edge of wariness, and how he was clearly at least a bit upset still, even after having the time to calm down from shock. 

Cloud shook his head. “Not all grief is crippling. I lost…” he hesitated. “A lot in that place. You being here doesn’t bother me, but it’s time I attempt… to let go of those past things.” 

She fiddled with her hands a bit “...I try to forget. But I-. I don’t want to forget Sephy.” And she’d never not be able to remember exactly how she’d ended up with her familiars.

“Some memories are worth holding onto. Even some sad memories.” Cloud said softly. “I hope you three stay. Seph would want that for you too.”

“Maybe I should go look for him.” She’d been thinking about it since Cloud had revealed he’d escaped too.

Cloud shook his head. “That’s not what he would want. I spent years looking and wound up going in circles. He would rather we were safe.” Naminé looked down at her hands, unsure. She knew Cloud had a point, but she wanted to see her friend again.

Cloud reached out even though neither of them were much for contact that didn’t come from their partners. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Seph is Seph. Zack and Chaos kept up with him much better than I could. They are fine and i’m sure...they will find us someday.” She kept hold of his hand, a faint trembling in her own. Something about the wolf felt parental, like Seph had, and that feeling was something she was quietly desperate for. 

He gently tugged on her arm, the same way she’d seen him do with both Squall and Sora before drawing them into a hug, and she fell into the warm embrace easily. She really had no willpower to resist, even if it was well outside the realm of politeness for her to be this physically affectionate with someone else’s partner; especially when they weren’t even around!

“I’ll help protect you.” Cloud promised, resting his cheek against her hair. “You and your cobras… mine now.” 

“How...how so?” She didn’t know this feeling, couldn’t place it. It felt warm, and safe.

“Like Sora.” he said as if that explained it clearly enough. Sora and Riku were his too.

“Like...Sora..?” She was confused, she and Sora were friends but she hardly considered herself to be someone Sora’s would call ‘his’.

“Something like that.” Cloud muttered, rubbing her back. “Stay where you are wanted.” She curled up against him slightly, absorbing his words. It was...nice. She struggled to get her thoughts in order, slightly frustrated that she couldn’t ‘see’ at all when it came to Cloud. Something about this felt right, and eventually her words came out soft and hesitant.

“Okay...papa.” She didn’t realize what she’d said at first and then went beet red with embarrassment when she did, visibly flustered as she started to move away and apologize.

There was a soft growl in his throat, different in his human form than his wolf form but still very animalistic. He kept her tight in his embrace, almost rocking her a little. 

“Yes.” he said simply, almost eagerly accepting the title. “I’ll keep you. I’ll keep you safe.” 

Her eyes went wider and she looked like she might cry “Really?” It felt different, Cloud wanting to keep her- keep them, then it had with Sora. Partly because he’d been in that place too. But more because he was older enough that it did feel a bit parental, and she’d never really been able to stop wanting that, even if she’d tried her best to bury the feeling. She’d had nothing but bad experiences with parents and parental-stand ins, even Seph was tainted by her feelings of loss.

“Oh yes.” He grumbled a noise in his chest, one of his hands rubbing her spine to sooth her. “I can’t...lose another child to that place. I can’t. I will be there for you.”

She only cried a little, opting instead to cling back and tuck her head under his chin “I’ll stay. We’ll stay.” Home sounded nice. Family sounded better. 

Finally Cloud relaxed, his tension easing as he held her. He had no doubt two Cobras would soon find their way into the pile.


End file.
